The spinal column is a complex system of bones and connective tissues that provides support for the human body and protection for the spinal cord and nerves. The human spine is comprised of thirty-three vertebrae at birth and twenty-four as a mature adult. Between each pair of vertebrae is an intervertebral disc, which maintains the space between adjacent vertebrae and acts as a cushion under compressive, bending, and rotational loads and motions.
There are various disorders, diseases, and types of injury that the spinal column may experience in a lifetime. The problems may include, but are not limited to, scoliosis, kyphosis, excessive lordosis, spondylolisthesis, slipped or ruptured disc, degenerative disc disease, vertebral body fracture, and tumors. Persons suffering from any of the above conditions typically experience extreme and/or debilitating pain, and often times diminished nerve function.
Conventionally, surgeons receive training in the use of orthopedic devices to correct vertebral column injuries and diseases by the application of methods and devices on cadavers. The amount of training for each surgeon is necessarily limited by the expense, availability, scheduling, and other logistic requirements associated with the use of cadavers. One drawback of using cadavers is that the biomechanical behavior and particularly soft tissue forces on the spinal column when applying methods and devices to a cadaver are far different from that which are normally experienced in a surgical procedure on a living patient.
Further, spine surgeons, when planning for a surgical procedure on a specific patient, normally study two-dimensional imaging data of the patient and lack an opportunity for a hands-on rehearsal of a method prior to operating on the patient. In recent years there has been a growing number of orthopedic practices and hospitals that have made the transition from film to all digital environments. Software based tools for orthopedic image review, analysis, and preoperative planning are becoming conventional tools of the orthopedic surgeon. While advances in surgical planning have been made, they are simply limited to improvements in providing two-dimensional data for study and planning. To receive hands-on training or to rehearse a surgical method, a surgeon is still limited to the use of cadavers.
With such training and rehearsal limitations, it is not uncommon during an actual surgical procedure for a surgeon to encounter unforeseen anatomical or biomechanical conditions that may require an immediate revision of the surgical plan as it proceeds. The need to provide more numerous and less expensive ways to train surgeons or to permit hands-on surgery planning and rehearsal in the use of spinal surgery methods and devices is particularly needed in the treatment of conditions, such as scoliosis. It is not uncommon in the surgical treatment of scoliosis that the forceful manipulation and realignment of the spinal column can be a long, complicated mechanical effort that may include a potential of damage to anatomical structures in the proximity of the spinal column. In addition to the obvious training benefits that a three dimensional hands on device could provide, the manual rehearsal of planned methods in the treatment of scoliosis could potentially provide a faster, more effective, and safer surgical correction for the patient.
One known modeling system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,113,847 to Boachie-Adjei that is assigned to K2M, Inc. The entire contents of this patent are incorporated herein by reference.
Thus, a need exists for a three dimensional hands on system to provide a spinal surgery modeling system that can be used by surgeons for training in the use of new devices and methods and can also be used in the planning and manual rehearsal of surgical procedures for patients.